Louisiana horse racing official takes stand on medication

Dr. Tom David, equine medical director for the Louisiana State Racing Commission, is taking a stand on race-day medication. And he realizes that will be unpopular with many people in racing.

David said it's time to stop the use of race-day medication, except the bleeder medication Lasix.

"It's not that you don't take care of (horses) and medicate them properly for problems they have, but to allow the level of pain medication when we run them is absurd, " he said. "You have to do what's right for the horse."

Masking pain in order to race a horse puts the animal and jockey at risk, David said.

"That's what we're doing, " he said. "We're putting horses out there with medications to alleviate their pain. It's allowable. The number of non-steroidals and the levels we allow are ridiculous.

"Good horsemen -- the cream will always rise. They're going to do well. They'll probably do better (without using race-day medication). What this medication does is allow the trainers who wouldn't do well to be competitive with a good trainer."

Racing's safety issues have come to the forefront with the breakdown of Barbaro in the Preakness in 2006 and the death of the filly Eight Belles in the Kentucky Derby this year.

"Breeding, track surfaces and medication are on everyone's agenda of issues that must be addressed if the sport is to survive, much less prosper, " David wrote in a statement he released in May. He also wrote: "Changes in breeding and research on the optimum track surface will take years to accomplish the desired end result. Medication can be changed overnight."

Racing officials throughout the nation have been busy revamping medication rules. The Racing Medication and Testing Consortium, a national organization composed of many racing entities, has proposed model rules concerning equine veterinary practices and the health and medication of horses. Most of the 38 racing states have adopted at least a portion of those rules.

Louisiana did so in December as emergency rules. In February, officials of the Louisiana Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association, which represents owners and trainers, argued before the Louisiana Senate Commerce Committee that there hadn't been an emergency. The committee agreed and struck down the rules.

"As far as the model rules, I think philosophically, it's a great thing that we can find a way that all the states have the same rules, " LHBPA President Sean Alfortish said. But, he said, scientists haven't reached consensus on many of the rules.

Also, he said, Louisiana has been more progressive on medication issues than other states have been. "Louisiana rules are even better than the model rules, " he said.

If the model rules come before the commission again, new commissioners, appointed by Gov. Bobby Jindal, will be considering them. Under the model rules, only one of three approved non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory medication would be allowed to be given to a horse between 24 and 48 hours before post time. Every major racing state has adopted that policy except Louisiana, which allows use of all three medications -- a situation that David said he deplores.

"Your good trainers years ago used little medication, " said David, who spent many years practicing as a veterinarian at racetracks. "We've seen almost 30 years of this permissive medication, and we haven't improved the racing and the breed one bit."

He said horses race less frequently than they used to race. According to statistics from The Jockey Club, the average number of starts per horse was 11.31 in 1960, 10.22 in 1970, 9.21 in 1980, 7.94 in 1990 and 7.10 in 2000. Last year the average was 6.31.

"I am hopeful the new commission will act, and if these states don't follow these model rules . . . the federal government will step in, " David said.

Early this year, the U.S. House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection held a hearing on steroids in sports. At the hearing, Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Kentucky) said, "All the major racing jurisdictions have banned the use of drugs still commonplace in America. England, for instance, banned steroids in racing over 30 years ago."

Whitfield, in a statement published in the San Diego Union-Tribune this week, said: "Congress can help, because it can adopt minimum standards for excellence, control and uniformity among the 38 racing jurisdictions. Just as important, Congress can enforce the minimum standards through the Interstate Horse Racing Act."

He is proposing that Congress set standards for medication rules, and under the racing act, if a state declines to pass the rules, it wouldn't be able to simulcast its races across state lines.

"It's chemical warfare on the backside, " he said from California. "If you're a horseman, you're not going to use all that (stuff). When they catch them doing something, they're not doing anything to them. They give them a slap on the hand."

Veteran trainer Andy Leggio, based at Louisiana Downs, said: "These horses need a certain amount of medication. . . . They get aches and pains. These are athletes. They're not horses you ride on the trail."

Several racing states, including California, are testing for anabolic steroids, and racing commissions in other states are discussing the matter. Louisiana doesn't test for steroids.

"I'm not for running a sore, crippled horse and running him with steroids, " Leggio said. "That seems to be the big issue to me."

He said steroids can help a horse, for instance, by stimulating appetite. "If steroids were eliminated, I'd be fine with it, " he said. "I'd be in the same boat as anybody else."

Leggio said that it's inevitable that steroids will be eliminated from racing and that uniform rules on medication will be implemented.

"They're going to do it, " he said. "It's just a matter of time. They're going to get it together."

No race-day medication would be fine with David. "The horse will be better off, " he said. "That's what it's all about."

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Bob Fortus can be reached at rfortus@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3408.